Friday, April 8, 2016

With SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend to touch on, let's get a second news post on the site today! Alongside, we have the latest from two local metal bands, and a new show announcement for next week, so here's what you should know, but check out more news and previews in this morning's post as well!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to Reggie's West for a pair of concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, drummer Glen Thomas only announced the shows on his personal Facebook page within the hour, and the band hasn't publically plugged them on their Facebook page at all. Fresh off of their Park Grille debut last week, Mourning Wood will play their first shows at the former Roosevelt Hotel (or "The Reggievelt") in over two months this weekend. Despite the late notice, Mourning Wood are a talented band who know a ton of songs, and they should entertain at this west end venue this weekend, so keep TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows in mind if you're craving live music! Both shows have 19+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 9:30 PM start times. Don't miss Mourning Wood TONIGHT & TOMORROW at Reggie's West this weekend, and here they are at The New A!

Next up, a house party concert entitled "Metal Massacre!" will take place on April 14th (this coming Thursday) that should pique the interest of local metalheads! To be held at a residence at 124 Anna Street (the site of last year's Shit Liver and The Man & His Machine house shows), three local metal bands will take the stage on Thursday, including local thrash metal trio Pillory in their second gig and first headlining concert set since their reunion! It's great to see the guys ramping up their bookings now that they're back, so keep their return in mind next week! The show will also see debuting appearances from new bands, including death metal quartet Kaepora Gaebora (more on them in a second) and a new two-man band named Twistory. They have no online pages or public material yet, but the band will unite Pillory frontman Robert Sartini (reprising his Shadowthrone drum role) with former bandmate Josh Amendola on vocals & guitar. Interesting, we'll have to see how Twistory do!

Promoted by Josh Amendola himself, this east end house show will have admission on a "pay what you can model", it will start at 9:00 PM on Thursday, and there's no announced age limits. This should be a solid concert for fans of newer and not-recently-seen metal artists, so visit the official Facebook event page for more, and thanks to Josh for the info on Twistory!

Also, here's the latest from the aforementioned Kaepora Gaebora, so what's new on this new local metal band? Well, the former Debt to the Heirless have quietly added ex-RedD Monkey/Gates of Winter drummer Kevin Overton to their lineup, replacing Anthony Boudreau. A reason for Anthony's departure wasn't announced, but hopefully things are amicable, and fans can still see him with Them! It's great to see Kevin back in a local band, but how do Kaepora Gaebora sound? Their first video on their new YouTube channel (from a recent jam session) confirms that they're a death metal band, and in terms of lineup roles, Joey Graham is their lead singer (rather than his better known drumming position), with Dan Souliere & Daeson Lesage on guitar. The video also appears to feature the aforementioned Josh Amendola on bass, seemingly implying that he's also a new addition to Kaepora Gaebora, but the band's Facebook page doesn't (yet?) list him with their lineup.

The video proper is just 43 seconds long, and the audio quality isn't very high (which renders Joey almost inaudible during it), but given members past work with bands like Bring the Fallen, I'd assume that Kaepora Gaebora will be a must-see band for death metal fans locally! Give their video a look below, and get more info on them and their debut above!

Finally, here's the latest from local classic metal quartet Project 421, so what's new in their camp? As you may remember, the band has been put on hold for the past couple of months while guitarist Frank McGillivray tended to medical needs for his daughter Casey, but fellow guitarist Blair Burch confirmed on their Facebook page last month that Casey is fit, healthy, and doing well, which is awesome to hear! Blair also elaborated on a torn deltoid in his arm that he suffered in January prior to their most recent concert, and it's been healing since, but he did say that it was better "for the most part" and he was working to get back into playing shape. With Blair & Frank's bandmates finished their third place battle runs with their side project Eclipse, the band has apparently returned to the jam room to work on new covers & originals, with a tentative return to the stage planned for May. Also, the band acknowledged that, had life not taken the turns that it did, they had planned to record an EP for release on April 21st (or, on 4/21, like their name.)

This confirms the plans from earlier teases of that date, but with original plans now thrown out, the band is debating whether to release an EP later in the year, or work towards a full debut CD for April 21st, 2017. The band hopes to be recording this year in any case, so stay tuned for full updates when more is announced! Lastly for today, the band posted this short video making use of Facebook's new "My Business Story" video creator on Thursday, and it's amusing given that they're not the sort of business that these videos are geared towards, so what are they in the business of? Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Project 421 when announced!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon, and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile tomorrow! Thanks everyone!